Method and system for educating healthcare professionals

ABSTRACT

A quiz bowl type game for healthcare professionals includes questions that are drawn from the product inserts of pharmaceutical products or any other material about the product that is in part or in whole intended to educate healthcare professionals or the public on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company or someone who has received monies from the pharmaceutical company for the purpose of producing such materials. Thus, in preparing for the game, the participants learn about the pharmaceutical products and their proper usage. Participants may also be guided through a series of sessions consisting of three different types of encounters based on a collection of multiple choice questions in order to prepare the participants for competing in the game. This requires the participants to systematically review and record data pertaining to each multiple choice question on two different occasions prior to a pre-determined multiple number of third tier encounters during each of which the participants are prompted to prompted to recall as much data as they can.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/550,141, filed Mar. 4, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to education, and more particularly, to a system and method for educating individuals requiring relatively long term retention and synthesis of learned material. Advantageously, the system and method may educate healthcare professionals on pharmaceutical products in a manner that is compliant with the guidelines adopted by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

BACKGROUND ART

Pharmaceutical companies continually perform research and develop products to address medical problems suffered by the public. However, for any pharmaceutical product to benefit a patient, it has to be prescribed and prescribed properly. Therefore, one concern of many pharmaceutical companies is educating healthcare professionals about the existence of their products and educating them about the merits and limitations of their products.

In the past, marketing and educational strategies were employed by pharmaceutical companies that included wooing healthcare professionals with high-priced entertainment and other incentives. Recent guidelines, however, developed by PhRMA address ethical concerns that might arise under such conventional marketing strategies. Under these guidelines, many of the previously used marketing approaches are no longer regarded as acceptable by the pharmaceutical industry.

Additionally, conventional text and classroom approaches used in traditional education often fail to maximize the learning potentials of the participants when applied to the education of healthcare professionals. While such conventional approaches achieve a systematic and logical presentation of a medical topic, they do not stimulate a working or long-term understanding of the information that is being taught. Also, these traditional methods of education become much less effective and less efficient when they are applied to situations where the information that is being taught far exceeds the amount of time in which the participant has available to learn it, such as occurs when educating the healthcare professional on healthcare subject matter. Therefore, while the traditional structured, sequenced approach used in most textbooks and courses can help a participant to navigate through the material, the participant may nonetheless require alternative study techniques and materials to achieve true competence. To this end, participants often independently seek out or develop such additional materials, techniques, and processes. Participants, for instance, may purchase examination review books and/or summary literature and computer programs to augment traditional teachings. While these additional educational efforts that utilize such additional materials, techniques, and processes may provide a short term pay off, these efforts usually fail to produce the desired level of long-term competence regarding the knowledge of and the use of the information. Therefore, the participant has a need and a desire for a product that supplements traditional materials and methods of instruction and that creates long-term competence.

Accordingly, pharmaceutical companies need an effective and ethical process that can be used to supplement the conventional text and classroom methods used in the traditional educational process through which the participant is receiving instruction of information in order to provide the participant with a long term competence in the knowledge of and the use of their pharmaceutical products. In addition, pharmaceutical companies need a reliable means of effectively and ethically incorporating education about their products into the ongoing overall educational efforts of the participant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention relate to a competitive game between healthcare professionals that is sponsored by a pharmaceutical company and is designed to creatively incorporate education about pharmaceutical products from that company. Advantageously, the sponsorship and implementation may be performed in a manner that is compliant with the PhRMA guidelines.

Another feature of the invention may be used to market a pharmaceutical product by sponsoring a quiz game having a plurality of questions, wherein at least one of the plurality of questions relates to the pharmaceutical product. A prize is awarded to a game participant correctly answering the question. Where desired, the question may be formulated based on a product insert of the pharmaceutical product or any other material about the product that is in part or in whole intended to educate healthcare professionals or the public on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company or someone who has received monies from the pharmaceutical company for the purpose of producing such materials.

Another feature of the invention may include a method of operating a quiz game for healthcare professionals that includes generating a first set of questions for the quiz game and partnering with a pharmaceutical company to provide funding for the quiz game. A second set of questions is generated, the second set being related to a pharmaceutical product of the pharmaceutical company and based on a product insert for the pharmaceutical product or any other material about the product that is in part or in whole intended to educate healthcare professionals or the public on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company or someone who has received monies from the pharmaceutical company for the purpose of producing such materials. A quiz came is conducted using the first and second sets of questions, and a prize is awarded. The prize is provided by the pharmaceutical company to a game participant that correctly answers one of the second set of questions. Where desired, an overall winner of the quiz game is determined and an appropriate prize is awarded.

Another aspect of the invention provides a method for advertising a pharmaceutical product. Namely, funding is provided to a vendor for the purpose of producing a quiz bowl competition for a group of healthcare professionals. The quiz game includes a question about the pharmaceutical product that is based on a product insert for that pharmaceutical product or any other material about the product that is in part or in whole intended to educate healthcare professionals or the public on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company or someone who has received monies from the pharmaceutical company for the purpose of producing such materials.

Another feature of the invention regards preparing the participant for a competitive game by instructing a participant through a series of educational sessions comprising a plurality of temporally sequenced encounters. The method and system allows review of a multiple choice question by a participant during a first encounter. This review includes any explanation of the answer that is given. In addition, the method and system allows during this first encounter the recording by the participant of data regarding the multiple choice question and its answer explanation. The recorded data, the multiple choice question, and its answer explanation are reviewed again during a second encounter. The participant is prompted to recall data relating to at least one of the recorded data, the multiple choice question, and the answer explanation during a third encounter.

These and other advantages and features, which characterize the invention, are set forth in the claims annexed hereto and forming a further part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, and of the advantages and objectives attained through its use, reference should be made to the Drawings, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is described exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary hardware arrangement for playing a quiz bowl game.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method for playing a quiz bowl game.

FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary method for a pharmaceutical company to sponsor a quiz bowl game such as that of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary hardware configuration for an Internet based alternative to the game of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method for conducting a tiered educational session using the computer hardware system of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary worksheet used to facilitate and record the educational session of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

As part of their undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate, and continuing medical education, many healthcare professionals participate in contests and other activities that are intended to be both educational and entertaining. According to one aspect of the present invention, the healthcare professionals are separated into teams and participate in a game similar to a college quiz bowl.

The subject matter of the questions will be related to a variety of medical information such as is found, for example, in specific reading assignments. In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, one or more questions relate to pharmaceutical, medical device or other medical, dental or health care products and the information included in the product inserts for such products or any other material about the product that is in part or in whole intended to educate healthcare professionals or the public on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company or someone who has received monies from the pharmaceutical company for the purpose of producing such materials. As used herein, the terms “pharmaceutical product” and “pharmaceutical company” shall include not only pharmaceutical but also medical, dental, veterinarian and other health care related products and providers.

This game may be held periodically for the same group of healthcare professionals allowing them to regularly compete against one another. Similarly, the game may be held at regional or national events, seminars, and conferences so that healthcare professionals from different groups (including those representing different hospitals, medical schools, and residency training programs) could compete against one another. Thus, the healthcare professionals are being educated while preparing for and participating in the games and, furthermore, audience members including non-competing healthcare professionals, are being educated as well due to the content of the questions and answers. Such a quiz bowl type game, therefore, offers a pharmaceutical company an opportunity to market its products and educate physicians about the product and its uses.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary quiz bowl game arrangement 100 that is operated in accordance with principles of the present invention. A host or emcee 102 controls the flow of the game by asking questions and verifying answers received by the participating healthcare professionals. In the particular embodiment of FIG. 1, two teams are shown (represented as boxes 108 and 110). One of ordinary skill will appreciate that more than two teams may be present and therefore, the present invention is not limited to any specific number of teams.

Similarly, each team 108, 110 is depicted in FIG. 1 as comprising four interactive devices 112, one for each member of the team. The presence of four devices 112 for each team is merely exemplary in nature and, in alternative embodiments, the teams may range from having a single member to having less or more than four members and each member may have an interactive device or all members of the same team may share a single interactive device. Each device 112 includes an antenna 114 and an activating device 116. The activating device 116 can be a button or other type of switch that allows a participant to “buzz-in” on a question during the game. The antenna 114 is used to communicate with a central receiver/controller 106 that detects when a participant uses an interactive device 112 during the game. The receiver/controller 106 may incorporate a programmable computer in addition to the receiver circuitry in order to provide other functionality as described herein. In this exemplary embodiment, a wireless interactive device 112 is described and, therefore, the device 112 includes a radio-frequency transmitter and antenna 114 that communicates with a complimentary receiver of the controller/receiver 106. Each team 108, 110 also may optionally have an associated microphone 109 to amplify their voices during the game such as might be necessary in a large auditorium.

In alternative embodiments, the communications link between an interactive device 112 and the receiver/controller 106 may be via an infrared signal or via a cable or similar medium. According to such an alternative, the device 112 and receiver/controller 106 would communicate using any of a number of conventional protocols to exchange information. The use of a wireless interactive device 112, however, simplifies cabling requirements and permits various physical layouts of the teams 108, 110, the host 102, and the receiver/controller 106. Regardless of which type of communications link is used, each device 112 can be uniquely identified by the receiver/controller during communications.

As is conventional with these type of games, a question is read by the host 102 and during its reading, or afterwards, one or more players buzz-in to indicate that they want to answer the question. Typically, the buzzing-in of a player causes the host 102 to stop reading the question. In response to one or more devices 112 buzzing-in, the receiver/controller 106 detects those events and also determines the temporal order in which those events occurred. Accordingly, when a healthcare professional buzzes-in to a question, the receiver/controller 106 can determine when it occurs and which device 112 among the various interactive devices was used by the participant.

A display 104 is advantageously used to display an ordered list 105 of players that buzzed-in to a question. The particular number of participants included in the ordered list 105 can vary from one to the total number of healthcare professionals participating depending on the preference of the emcee. The display 104 may, for example, be an LCD display that is connected to the receiver/controller 106. The display 104 may be located near the host 102 or may be centrally-located, and properly sized, such that all participants may see the list 105. The list 105 identifies the participants (for example, by name or by team) that buzzed-in to the question and the order with which they did so. Accordingly, prior to beginning the game, the receiver/controller 106 is programmed to associate with each device 112 a particular name of a healthcare professional participating in the game. In embodiments in which only one wireless device 112 is provided to a team, then the receiver/controller 106 is programmed with an association between the device 112 and a name for the team. Thus, when creating the information for the list 105, the receiver/controller translates from a unique ID for a device 112 to a name of the associated participant.

As one of ordinary skill will appreciate, the specific rules and scoring of the game may vary without departing from the scope of the present invention. According to one exemplary embodiment, only the resident buzzing-in may answer the question. Assistance can be received from other team members but only the one participant may actually answer. In response to a correct answer, a team 108, 110 may be awarded 10 points, for example. To prevent guessing, a team 108, 110 may be penalized for any wrong answers, such as, for example, by subtracting 10 points. At the end of the game, the team 108, 110 with the most points is declared the overall winner and usually receives some type of prize.

To highlight the questions during the game that relate to pharmaceutical products, the host 102 may yield the floor to a representative of the appropriate pharmaceutical company so that the representative asks that particular question or questions. Additionally, a specific prize, such as a gift certificate or other incentive, may be awarded for that question in addition to awarding the normal points.

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary method for operating a quiz bowl game in accordance with the principles of the present invention and using the arrangement 100 of FIG. 1. One of ordinary skill will recognize that the description below is merely exemplary and a number of variations and alternatives may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In step 202, the database is generated within the receiver/controller 106 that stores the association between the device IDs of the devices 112 and the names of the participants that are using them. Once this is complete, the game is started, in step 204, between the multiple teams. In step 106, a question is read by the host 102, until the receiver/controller 106 detects, in step 208, that one or more devices 112 have been used by a participant to “buzz-in”. The host 102, stops reading the question, in step 210, and the names of the participants that buzzed-in are displayed in step 212 in temporal order. The host 102 then elicits a response, in step 214, from a participant according to the ordered list 105. If the response is determined to be wrong, in step 216, then the answering team's score is adjusted, in step 217, and the host 102 elicits a response from the next participant on the list 105 that is not a member of first responder's team (for example, in some embodiments, participants from the same team as the first responder are not allowed to participate in subsequent attempts to answer the question that was missed by their teammate). If the response is determined to be correct, in step 218, then points are awarded and the next question is asked in step 206.

Based on the scores of each team, once all the questions have been asked, one team is declared the winner. “Sudden-death” or “Tie-breaker” questions may be used to prevent a tie from occurring.

As previously mentioned, some of the questions of the game may be related to products of a pharmaceutical company and the presence of these questions in the game serve to educate the participating healthcare professionals and the audience members about the pharmaceutical product. Additionally, it provides the pharmaceutical company with the opportunity to advertise and market their product in an ethical manner. In fact, certain embodiments of the present invention allow advertising and marketing in a manner that is compliant with the PhRMA guidelines. FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method for a hospital or other organization to partner with a pharmaceutical company to create a quiz bowl-type game.

In step 302, a group of healthcare professionals is identified for a potential quiz bowl competition. This group may be chosen by a representative of the group, a sponsoring pharmaceutical company, or a representative of the vendor supplying the competition. Once the group has been identified, the vendor supplying the competition is then contacted by its own representative, a representative of the chosen group of healthcare professionals, or the sponsoring pharmaceutical company, and a specific reading assignment upon which the competition will be based is chosen.

In step 304, sponsorship for the quiz bowl competition is obtained from a pharmaceutical company. In step 306, such a partnering company agrees to pay the vendor of the quiz bowl competition an amount that is mutually agreed upon. From the perspective of the chosen group of healthcare professionals, the pharmaceutical company entirely or partially defrays the cost of running the quiz bowl game, such as the cost for the equipment and its maintenance, shipping of the equipment, insurance for the equipment, travel, lodging and meals for the vendor personnel running the quiz bowl competition, fees for an A-V technician, an honorarium for a host for the competition, fees for the research and writing of all the quiz bowl competition questions, and prizes for the members of the winning team. The pharmaceutical company also will provide individual prizes for answering specific questions related to their products. From the perspective of the pharmaceutical company, they get to select one or more products that they desire to showcase via one or more questions at the quiz bowl game. These products will be identified for the participants by the pharmaceutical company and/or the vendor before the competition. Information regarding these products will also be provided to the participants by the pharmaceutical company and/or the vendor. As a result, all the healthcare professionals participating in the game will likely study information (e.g., the product insert) relating to the selected product prior to the actual competition. In step 308, the vendor researches and creates the quiz bowl competition questions based on the specific reading assignment chosen.

In steps 304 and 306, the vendor and the pharmaceutical company partner together by agreeing to the terms of the sponsorship of the quiz bowl game. In step 310, questions are formulated about the selected pharmaceutical product and are, advantageously, extracted from the product insert or any other material about the product that is in part or in whole intended to educate healthcare professionals or the public on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company or someone who has received monies from the pharmaceutical company for the purpose of producing such materials. Thus the questions may relate to such topics as Indications and Usage, Contraindications, Precautions, Drug Interactions, Adverse Reactions, Dosage, Overdosage, etc., all of which are addressed by the product insert that accompanies a pharmaceutical product or are commonly covered in any other material about the product that is in part or in whole intended to educate healthcare professionals or the public on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company or someone who has received monies from the pharmaceutical company for the purpose of producing such materials. Typically the product insert is a separate or removable attachment such as a flyer, card or piece of paper included in the packaging for the pharmaceutical product and carrying product specific information as described. These product specific questions are then added to the questions developed earlier in step 308.

In step 312, the game is played using all the questions, including the product specific ones. During play of the game, the sponsorship of the pharmaceutical company may be highlighted or advertised so as to “brand” the game. While the pharmaceutical product related questions may occur at any time during the game, they may advantageously be positioned during a transition time such as right before an intermission or right after an intermission. Such placement at these times may enhance the audience awareness during those questions. Alternatively, the product-related questions may be explicitly introduced as coming from the sponsor in order to highlight the question and its subject matter. In step 314, prizes are awarded during the game for the overall winner and for correct responses to the specific product-related questions. By awarding separate prizes, the pharmaceutical company is given another opportunity to advertise and market to the audience.

Thus, while the present invention has been illustrated by a description of various embodiments and while these embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the Applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Thus, the invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrative example shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of Applicant's general inventive concept. This includes other common variations of quiz competitions such as Jeopardy® and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire®. Another specific departure that is included in the spirit and scope of the general inventive concept is that of offering Continuing Medical Education credit for all healthcare professionals participating in the quiz bowl competition.

For example, one alternative to the “live” version of the game may be to implement it as an interactive web site that healthcare professionals log into daily (or weekly) to receive reading assignments and to answer questions. At the web site a limited number (e.g., five) questions are offered every day related to assigned reading with one of them being related to the product insert of a pharmaceutical product or any other material about the product that is in part or in whole intended to educate healthcare professionals or the public on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company or someone who has received monies from the pharmaceutical company for the purpose of producing such materials.

The scores for each participant are maintained by the web site and the participant with the most points after 30 days, or some other time period, is declared the winner. The product insert can, for example, be provided at the web site as well so that the participants can study it in preparation for the questions. This also applies to any other material about the product that is in part or in whole intended to educate healthcare professionals or the public on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company or someone who has received monies from the pharmaceutical company for the purpose of producing such materials. Thus, the pharmaceutical company sponsors the web site and its quizzes and in the process receives marketing opportunity while educating the participants.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary hardware and software environment for the server or computer 400 suitable for implementing an environment for a web site that provides a learning environment for healthcare professionals consistent with the invention. Furthermore, the receiver/controller 106 may be implemented within this hardware environment as well. For the purposes of the invention, the computer 400 may represent practically any type of computer, computer system or other programmable electronic device, including a client computer, a server computer, a portable computer, a handheld computer, an embedded controller, etc. Moreover, the computer 400 may be implemented using one or more networked computers, e.g., in a cluster or other distributed computing system.

Computer 400 typically includes at least one processor 412 coupled to a memory 414. Processor 412 may represent one or more processors (e.g., microprocessors), and memory 414 may represent the random access memory (RAM) devices comprising the main storage of computer 400, as well as any supplemental levels of memory, e.g., cache memories, non-volatile or backup memories (e.g., programmable or flash memories), read-only memories, etc. In addition, memory 414 may be considered to include memory storage physically located elsewhere in computer 400, e.g., any cache memory in a processor 412, as well as any storage capacity used as a virtual memory, e.g., as stored on a mass storage device 416 or on another computer or device coupled to computer 400 via the Internet 418 or some other network (not shown).

Computer 400 also typically receives a number of inputs and outputs for communicating information externally. For interface with a user or operator, computer 400 typically includes one or more user input devices 422 (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a joystick, a touch pad, and/or a microphone, among others) and a display 424 (e.g., a CRT monitor, an LCD display panel, and/or a speaker, among others). Otherwise, user input may be received via a workstation 401 used by a healthcare professional to access the computer 400 via the network 418, or via a dedicated workstation interface or the like.

For additional storage, computer 400 may also include one or more mass storage devices 416, e.g., a floppy or other removable disk drive, a hard disk drive, a direct access storage device (DASD), an optical drive (e.g., a CD drive, a DVD drive, etc.), and/or a tape drive, among others. Furthermore, computer 400 may include an interface with one or more networks 418 (e.g., a LAN, a WAN, a wireless network, and/or the Internet, among others) to permit the communication of information with other computers and devices coupled to the network. It should be appreciated that computer 400 typically includes suitable analog and/or digital interfaces between processor 412 and each of components 414, 416, 418, 422 and 424 as is well known in the art.

Computer 400 operates under the control of an operating system 430, and executes or otherwise relies upon various computer software applications, components, programs, objects, modules, data structures, etc. (e.g., web server 432 and database 434, among others). Moreover, various applications, components, programs, objects, modules, etc. may also execute on one or more processors in another computer coupled to computer 400 via another network, e.g., in a distributed or client-server computing environment, whereby the processing required to implement the functions of a computer program may be allocated to multiple computers over the network.

Other hardware components may be incorporated into system 400, as may other software applications. In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the invention, whether implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions, or even a subset thereof, will be referred to herein as “computer program code”, or simply “program code”. Program code typically comprises one or more instructions that are resident at various times in various memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or more processors in a computer, cause that computer to perform the steps necessary to execute steps or elements embodying the various aspects of the invention. Moreover, while the invention has and hereinafter will be described in the context of fully functioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various embodiments of the invention are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of signal bearing media include but are not limited to recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, magnetic tape, optical disks (e.g., CD-ROM's, DVD's, etc.), among others, and transmission type media such as digital and analog communication links.

In addition, various program code described hereinafter may be identified based upon the application within which it is implemented in a specific embodiment of the invention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular program nomenclature that follows is used merely for convenience, and thus the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by such nomenclature. Furthermore, given the typically endless number of manners in which computer programs may be organized into routines, procedures, methods, modules, objects, and the like, as well as the various manners in which program functionality may be allocated among various software layers that are resident within a typical computer (e.g., operating systems, libraries, API's, applications, applets, etc.), it should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the specific organization and allocation of program functionality described herein. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the exemplary environment illustrated in FIG. 4 is not intended to limit the present invention. Indeed, those skilled in the art will recognize that other alternative hardware and/or software environments may be used without departing from the scope of the invention.

Various companies currently produce gaming apparatus and exam preparation software and materials that may be utilized by embodiments of the present invention. For example, Com Tec of New Jersey manufactures a wireless game system. Another company producing a similar system is Fleetwood in Michigan. Exam Master of Delaware is an example of one of the many companies producing computer-based exam preparation materials.

The computer 400 of FIG. 4 may have application in realizing another embodiment of the present invention, where instructional processes are used to guide participants through self-instructional sessions with the information contained in a series multiple choice questions. A multiple choice question includes a question stem of background and descriptive information, some or all of which is necessary for answering the question correctly. The question stem also includes the actual question that is being asked of the participant. Following the question stem is a selection of more than one answer choices for the question stem. The answer choices also comprise part of the multiple choice question. More than one of these choices may be a correct answer for the multiple choice question. In addition, the multiple choice question shall also include any explanation of the answer that may be provided. The participant is guided through a session for each multiple choice question of a series of multiple choice questions by the aid of written materials, materials displayed by electronic projection, computer technologies, audio presentations, and/or live or video presentations of an instructor.

The self-instructional session with a multiple choice question includes three different component parts, or encounters. There may be, therefore, three different types of encounters a participant will have with each multiple choice question. The participant has successfully completed a session for a multiple choice question when a Tier I Encounter, a Tier II Encounter, and a pre-determined multiple number, for example thirty, Tier III Encounters have been completed for the multiple choice question. For a given multiple choice question, each encounter is typically temporally separated from all other encounters with the same multiple choice question by at least one day, but no more than four days.

FIG. 5 shows exemplary steps for conducting an educational session that involves such encounters. As shown in the flowchart, and as demarcated by dashed lines 530 and 532, the encounters include Tier I, II and III Encounters. While such encounters may be manually accomplished in certain applications, the computer-implemented processes of the flowchart of FIG. 5 are taken from the perspective of a computer system 400, such as that shown in FIG. 4.

More particularly, a computer system 400 may permit a participant at block 502 of a Tier I Encounter to review a multiple choice question, attempt to answer it, determine the accuracy of the answer chosen, and then review any explanation of the answer that is included. For instance, the participant may read the question presented on a terminal display 424. During this Tier I Encounter, the participant achieves an accurate understanding of all information contained in the multiple choice question, including any explanation of the answer. The system 400 or an instructor at block 504 may then prompt the participant to synthesize key information from the multiple choice question into a single, simple and brief sentence that clearly identifies the specific piece of information or specific ability that the multiple choice question is intended to assess.

Question data comprising the synthesis sentence is then recorded at block 506 by the participant in either written or electronic form. Also, question data comprising any specific skills that are needed to synthesize the information or interpret the information given in either the question stem or the answer choices is identified and recorded. Additionally, question data comprising any important details in the multiple choice question that are needed to either synthesize the information in the multiple choice question or to choose the correct answer may be identified and recorded at blocks 504 and 506. Once the Tier I Encounter for a multiple choice question is completed, the participant additionally records this achievement in written or electronic form at block 507.

After the Tier I Encounter is complete and recorded at block 506, the session with respect to that multiple choice question is paused at block 508. For instance, a participant on a morning session of a first day may be allowed about six and one-half minutes to complete blocks 502, 504 and 506 of a Tier I Encounter for a first multiple choice question. On the same day, a participant may typically have two such Tier I Encounters for two multiple choice questions. After the completion of a Tier I Encounter, the session with regard to that first multiple choice question may be paused at block 508 for about twenty-four hours until a Tier II encounter for that question begins at block 510.

The second part of each session is devoted to guiding the participant through a Tier II Encounter with each of the multiple choice questions with which the participant previously had a Tier I Encounter. For instance, the participant may on the morning of the following day review at block 510 for a second time the multiple choice, any included answer explanation, and the participant's re corded data. For each multiple choice question, the participant reads again the multiple choice question comprising the question stem, the answer choices, and any answer explanation provided. In addition, question data comprising the participant's record of the synthesis sentence of the multiple choice question, the skills required for properly synthesizing the multiple choice question and answering it correctly, and the important details presented in the question stem and the answer choices is carefully reviewed at block 510.

The system 400 may prompt at block 512 the participant to choose two to four key words to represent the key information in the multiple choice question. The system 400 may then allow the participant to record at block 514 the information in an electronic or paper worksheet 600 having fields similar to those shown in FIG. 6. As shown in the exemplary worksheet 600, these fields may contain information used to record the day 602 the encounter was accomplished, the origin 603 of the question, a question sequence number, name or other identifier 604, synthesis data 606, required skill data 608, important details data 609, keyword data 610 and encounter completions 612. The Tier II Encounter may be accomplished in some cases in around five minutes. The participant may be prompted to record completion of the encounter at block 515, and the session may pause at block 516 with respect to the multiple choice question.

The participant will have a pre-determined multiple number, for example thirty, Tier III Encounters associated with each multiple choice question. The first of these encounters may occur during the first period following the period in which the Tier II Encounter for the same multiple choice question occurred. For each multiple choice question, the Tier III Encounter may last, for example, fifteen seconds. In any case, one skilled in the art will recognize that the exemplary time periods in which a participant has to complete an encounter or session may vary per different subject matter and other considerations. Moreover, a participant may engage in encounters for a number of multiple choice questions on the same day, as shown at blocks 522 and 528.

Regarding the tasks that the participant must accomplish during the Tier III Encounters, for each multiple choice question at block 518 of FIG. 6, the keyword, recorded synthesis sentence, necessary skills, important details and other data are briefly reviewed while attempting to recall as much of the additional key information as possible within the fifteen second time limit.

A Tier III Encounter associated with the multiple choice question typically occurs during each of the subsequent sessions until the total of the pre-determined multiple number, for example thirty, Tier III Encounters have been completed. After each Tier III Encounter for a multiple choice question is completed, the participant records at block 520 this achievement in written or electronic form, such as using a handheld computing device.

In this manner, processes consistent with the invention facilitate the learning process by making it more effective and more efficient. Embodiments thus enable students to learn more in less time. Embodiments also may provide instructors a structural framework for the organization of all learning materials.

Aspects of the invention provide instructional materials that help the student learn and the instructor teach information that consists of independent, disconnected collections of facts or skills in a manner that augments the well-ordered presentation of information associated with conventional educational processes. As such, an embodiment facilitates a learning experience in a subject or topic in which the information is not systematically or logically arranged. The student is navigated through a structured learning experience with independent, disconnected collections of facts. Such processes may have particular application in the context of examination review materials that utilize multiple choice questions in order to simulate review. Although intended by the publishers for review, these books are often used by students as the source of primary instruction in the overall subject or topic of the review.

Other features of the invention provide a structured routine through which comprehension, short-term memory, and long-term memory are achieved for the data contained in a multiple choice question, while at the same time facilitating the development of analytical skills used in processing data. Where desired, written and electronic versions of workbooks containing worksheets similar that shown in FIG. 6 facilitate the routine described by this study protocol.

While the present invention has been illustrated by a description of various embodiments and while these embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the inventor to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Thus, the invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrative example shown and described. For instance, while the processes of the present invention may have particular application in educating health care professional and students, other embodiments of the invention may apply equally to non-healthcare related educational endeavors, including those addressing standardized school entrance exams, board certification and other professional license testing. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of this general inventive concept. 

1. A method for marketing a pharmaceutical product, comprising the steps of: sponsoring a quiz game having a plurality of questions, at least one of the plurality of questions related to the pharmaceutical product; and awarding a prize to a game participant correctly answering the at least one question.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of: formulating the at least one question based on a product insert of the pharmaceutical product that is at least in part intended to educate healthcare professionals on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company.
 3. A method of teaching healthcare professionals, comprising the steps of: conducting a quiz game having a plurality of questions, at least one of the plurality of questions related to a pharmaceutical product; and awarding a prize to a game participant correctly answering the at least one question.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of: basing the at least one question on a product insert of the pharmaceutical product that is at least in part intended to educate healthcare professionals on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company.
 5. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of: partnering with a pharmaceutical company to sponsor the quiz game.
 6. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of partnering further includes the steps of: receiving funding from the pharmaceutical company for purpose of producing the quiz game.
 7. A method of operating a quiz game for healthcare professionals comprising the steps of: generating a first set of questions for the quiz game; partnering with a pharmaceutical company to provide funding for the quiz game; generating a second set of questions for the quiz game, related to a pharmaceutical product of the pharmaceutical company, said second set of questions based on a product insert for the pharmaceutical product that is at least in part intended to educate healthcare professionals on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company; conducting the quiz game using the first and second sets of questions; and awarding a respective prize provided by the pharmaceutical company to a game participant that correctly answers one of the second set of questions.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the steps of: determining an overall winner of the quiz game; and awarding an overall prize.
 9. A method for advertising a pharmaceutical product comprising the steps of: providing funding to a vendor for the purpose of producing a quiz bowl competition for a group of healthcare professionals, said quiz game including a question about the pharmaceutical product that is based on a product insert for that pharmaceutical product that is at least in part intended to educate healthcare professionals on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of providing funding further includes at least one of the following steps: providing funding for the hardware device used to implement the quiz game and for its maintenance; providing funding for insurance and shipping of the hardware device; providing funding for travel, food, and lodging for all vendor personnel; providing funding for fees for an A-V technician; providing funding for an honorarium for a host for the competition; providing funding for the creation and maintenance of a web-site and its content that is available for all participants; providing funding for the research and creation of all questions for the competition; and providing funding for prizes awarded to game participants.
 11. A method for marketing a pharmaceutical product, comprising the steps of: sponsoring a quiz game having a plurality of questions, at least one of the plurality of questions related to the pharmaceutical product; awarding a prize to a game participant correctly answering the at least one question; and complying with ethical guidelines of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).
 12. A method of instructing a participant in an educational session comprising a plurality of temporally sequenced encounters, the method comprising: prompting review of a multiple choice question by a participant during a first encounter of the plurality of encounters, and prompting recording by the participant of data regarding the multiple choice question; prompting review of the recorded data by the participant during a second encounter of the plurality of encounters; and prompting the participant to recall data relating to at least one of the recorded data and the multiple choice question during a third encounter of the plurality of encounters.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising prompting the participant to review the multiple choice question during the second encounter.
 14. The method of claim 12, further comprising prompting the participant to determine the data regarding the multiple choice question.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein prompting the recording of the data further includes prompting the participant to record data relating to at least one of a group consisting of: a detail of the multiple choice question, a detail of an answer to the multiple choice question, a keyword, and a description derived by the participant.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein prompting the recording of the data further includes prompting the participant to record the data within a memory of a computer.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein prompting reviewing of the multiple choice question further includes prompting the participant to review the multiple choice question and presenting the multiple choice question on a computer display.
 18. The method of claim 12, further comprising prompting recording by the participant of additional data regarding the multiple choice question during the second encounter.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising prompting the participant to recall the additional data during the third encounter.
 20. The method of claim 12, further comprising generating a worksheet configured to facilitate the educational session.
 21. An apparatus comprising: a memory configured to store program code; and a processor configured to access the memory and to execute the program code, wherein the processor is further configured to enable review by a participant of a multiple choice question; to allow the participant to record data regarding the multiple choice question during a first encounter; to allow the participant to review the recorded data during a second encounter temporally spaced from the first encounter; and to prompt during a third encounter the participant to recall data relating to at least one of the recorded data and the multiple choice question, wherein the third encounter is temporally spaced from both the first and second encounters. 